Jury selection began Monday in the case of two Gainesville residents charged with the sex trafficking of a girl.
Maria Mercedes Vasquez-Quiroz and Digno de Jesus Mejia were indicted in February 2014 in alleged connection to the trafficking of a girl younger than 10 for sexual servitude.
“I would ask each and every one of you to have a brave heart,” said Hall County Assistant District Attorney Shiv Sachdeva to the jury pool before entering a round of general questions.
Vasquez-Quiroz was charged with rape, aggravated child molestation, child molestation, first-degree child cruelty, enticing a child for indecent purposes, trafficking a person for sexual servitude and aggravated sodomy.
Mejia was charged with child molestation, first-degree child cruelty, enticing a child for indecent purposes, trafficking of a person for sexual servitude and rape.
A co-defendant in the February 2014 indictment, Junior Alexander Delcid-Leon, received his sentence last week.
Delcid-Leon was charged with child molestation, aggravated child molestation, first-degree child cruelty, aggravated sodomy and rape.
Attempts to confirm details of Delcid-Leon’s sentencing with Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh on Monday were unsuccessful.
Vasquez-Quiroz and Mejia were aided by Spanish-language interpreters in the courtroom Monday.
Lee Parks and Tom Csider are the attorneys for Mejia and Vasquez-Quiroz, respectively.
The case will be heard in Judge Jason Deal’s courtroom.